By NAKUBIANA SHABONGO, MOFFAT CHAZINGWA, BRIAN HATYOKA, JULIUS PHIRI, CHATULA KAMPO –
NEW Lusaka Mayor Mulenga Sata has pledged to dedicate efforts to reshaping the city and rooting out corruption.
Mr Sata pledged to ensure that his administration performed in a transparent and efficient manner.
“I also pledge to ensure that as a local authority, we uphold corporate strategic objectives by implementing and practising strategic governance founded on the basic values which include integrity, accountability, impartiality, confidentiality and efficiency among various things,” he said.
Mr Sata was speaking in Lusaka yesterday during his installation ceremony, graced by Vice President Guy Scott. Dr Scott said garbage collection should remain a priority concern as Mr Sata assumed office.
He said garbage collection could be turned into a viable business venture where the private sector could play a critical role by recycling garbage.
“I was in Johannesburg last year, recently and I went to see two companies that were recycling four types of garbage each and the system that was collecting it and feeding it into this machine and it was making money.
“It was actually making money at all levels, from people collecting glass things and paper and tins. This was all recycled in different ways and sent back some of it to Zambia to be melted down as plastic polythene sheets,” he said.
He was concerned that some parts of Lusaka were ‘shamefully’ dirty and urged the Mayor to ensure the Millennium Challenge Account project on sanitation commenced this year.
Outgoing Lusaka mayor Daniel Chisenga said he contributed to the development of the country during his tenure through road projects that also improved the drainage system.
In Kitwe, Labour Minister, Fackson Shamenda urged councillors to put behind partisan politics and focus on their civic responsibility of ensuring quality services to residents.
Mr Shamenda said councillors should concentrate on their obligation of providing quality services and development to the residents in their respective wards regardless of party affiliation.
Mr Shamenda said this in Kitwe during the installation of Kitwe Mayor Kelvin Sinyangwe and his deputy Godfridah Chulu at the Civic Centre.
He also graced the Ndola mayoral installation where he called for transparency among councillors in the delivery of services to the Zambian people.
He said there was need for councillors to be custodians of by-laws in the governance of the country at municipal level.
In Livingstone, Southern Province Minister Daniel Munkombwe urged the council to reform and avoid engaging in squabbles and bickering which could lead to the suspension of the local authority.
Mr Munkombwe said he wanted to see a reformed Livingstone City Council, focused on matters of development and not a local authority which was always suspended for engaging in wrong doing.
He said this during the installation of Milford Maambo of United Party for National Development (UPND) as Mayor and his deputy Fred Sikazwe of the Patriotic Front (PF).
Mayors from Victoria Falls Town in Zimbabwe and Chobe Town in Botswana also attended the colourful ceremony.
In Chipata, Eastern Province Minister Malozo Sichone called on management at Chipata Municipal Council to move to another level of development in line with the aspirations of the people.
Mr Sichone said during the installation of Chipata Mayor Jelasi Phiri and his deputy Penias Mshanga at the council grounds that the residents and the Government were looking forward to a new chapter of development.
In Northern Province, Norma Siame reports that provincial Minister Freedom Sikazwe said the operations of Kasama Municipal Council were moribund and urged new Mayor John Nkumbula and his deputy Mutale Chibeka to help turn around operations.
Mr Sikazwe said he had noticed the below-par performance of the local authorities and incessant complaints from the public about the council. He also urged the councillors to be united by pushing forward the PF development agenda and hoped the fresh mandate would help revamp operations.
